Crossing gate



G. F. SCHIRMACHER April 21, 1925 CROSS ING GATE Filed June 6, 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 WITNESS:

April 21, 1925.

G. F. SCHIRMACHER CROSSING GATE Filed June 6, 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEY WITNESS:

Patented Apr. 21, 1925.

with f:

GEORGE E. SGHIBMACHER, OF WAUKESHA, WISCONSIN.

CROSSING GATE.

Application filed June 6,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE F. Scrun- MAOHER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Waukesha, in the county ofWaukesha and State of Wisconsin, have invented new and useful Improvements in Crossing Gates, of which the following is a specification.

My present invention has reference to an automatic barrier for railway crossings.

In carrying out my invention it is my purpose to arrange a short trolley wire between the rails at a railway crossing to insulate v the rails at the said crossing, and the trolley Wire being connected with auxiliary circuits which include relays, the armatures for the relays being engageable by contacts when the circuit therefor is de-energized by a trolley mounted upon a train approaching the crossing, the de-energized armatures completing circuits for swinging the gates or barriers to obstructing position and for lighting the barriers in said position, weighted means returning the gates or barriers to initial non-obstructing position.

To the attainment of the foregoing broadly stated objects and others which will appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, reference is to be had to the drawings which accompany and which form part of this application.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a side elevation showing a gate swung to obstructing position by a train approaching a railway crossing.

Figure 2 is a sectional view on the line 2-2 of Figure 3.

Figure 3 is a sectional view on the line 33 of Figure 2.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the crossing and the barrier or gate arm and illustrating the electric circuits.

Therails 1, at a railway crossing, are insulated from each other as at 2. To the opposite sides of the railway, and likewise to the opposite sides of the crossing, I erect posts disposed in opposed pairs. These posts, indicated by the numeral 3, support therebetween an electric conducting cable in the nature of a trolley wire 4. Suitable adjustable brace means 5 hold the trolley wire 4 centrally between the track. Each of the rails at the opposite sides of the track are wired, as at 6 and 7 to electric circuits including batteries 8 and 9. In these cir- 1924. Serial No. 718,364..

cuits there are relays 10 and 11, the arma tures of which being spring influenced in the usual manner and being indicated vby'tlie numerals 12 and 13 respectively. The return wire for the circuit 9 is indicated by the numeral 14., and that of the circuit 6 by the numeral 15. These wires bridge the wires 6 and 7 but are connected together as at 16 and lead to and'are connected with the trolley wire 4: as indicated by the numeral 17.

The gate or barrier, indicated by the numeral 18, is pivotally supported infthe usual housing 19. The gate 18 has a weighted end 20 whereby the same will be normally swung to vertical non obstructing position. The pivot for the gate 18 is indicated by the numeral 21 and is really in the nature of a shaft although the'gate is se curely fixed thereto. The pivot 21 has fixed thereon a crank 22 to which is pivotally connected an arm 23 that is loosely connected, as at 24 to the core 25 of the sole noid 26.

On the pivot shaft 21 there are spaced contacts 27 respectively, engaged by wiper switch arms 28 respectively. Connected to the contact members 27 are the wires for an electric bulb 29.

Normally the armatures 12 and 13 are attracted to the cores of-the relays 10 and 11 by the closed circuits which include the batteries 8 and 9. When the relay circuit is de-energized in a manner which will pres: ently be described, the spring influenced armatures will be brought against contacts 80. These contacts are wired, as at 31 to the coil of the solenoid, the return wire from the coil, indicated by the numeral 32, being connected with one pole of a battery 33, the opposite pole of the said battery beingnon; nected by a wire 34- to the armature 13. The armature 12 is connected by a wire 35 to the conductor 34 but is extended therefrom and is also connected to one of the wiper switches 28 of the lamp circuit. The second wiper switch 28 of the lamp circuit is connected by a wire 36 to a battery 37, the second wire from the battery, indicated by the numeral 38, bridges the wire 34: and is connected directly to the wire 31.

A portion of an engine locomotive is illustrated in Figure 1 of the drawings and is indicated by the numeral 39. On the boiler of the locomotive there is supported a trol- HJU ley harp 40. The trolley harp is made up of pivotally connected arms which are suitably supported on the locomotive, and the opposed arms at their central pivots are drawn together by, a spring 41. The trolley wheel is indicated by the numeral l2 and incident to the harp construction vis forced against the trolley wire 4. When the car approaches the crossing from either direction,.say from the direction as indicated in Figure 1 of the drawings, the current will travel from the battery 8 to the rails, through the locomotive and its trolley, along the trolley wire 4 through the wire connect ed with the trolley 24 and return to the battery 8, thus de-e'nergizing' the circuit con trolled by the battery 8 and permitting the armature 12 to be influenced by its spring into engagement with the contact 30. The

i current will then flow through the battery 33, wire 35, armature 12, contact 30, wire 31 to the coil of the solenoid and being returned through the wire 32 to the battery. 7

In the meantime, the lamp circuit will be energized, the current flowing from the battery S'Z througli the wire 38, contact 30, armature 12, wire 85, to one of the wiper switches 28 and will be returned through the wire 36' to the battery 37. As soon as the train passes the crossing, the normally open circuit will again be closed, causing the armature 12 to be attracted by the relay, and the gate, incident to its weight, will swing to non-obstructing position, the lamp circuit being likewise eXtinguished; A train approaching the crossing from an opposite direction will control the circuits influenced by the circuit including the battery 9 and the circuits completed by the armature 13 in a manner similar to that described.

WVh-i-le it is believed that the foregoing description, when taken in connection with the drawings willfully set forth the construction of my improvement and its advantages, to those skilled in the art to which such inventions relate; it is" to be understood that I do not wish to be limited to the precise structural details herein set forth and hold myself entitled to such changes therefrom as fairly fall within the scope of what I claim:

1. In combination, a railway the having its rails insulated from each other at the center of a crossing, a weight influenced pivotally supported gate at the crossing, a trolley wire arranged over the railway and a train having a trolley wheel to engage the trolley wire, of normally closed electric circuits, wired directly to the rails at the sides of the crossing and to the trolley wire, relays in said circuits having springiiifluenced armm tures, contacts in the path of engagement with the armatures when the latter are de energized, and the said relays designed to have their circuits de-energized when atrain approaches the crossing, a solenoid, an electric circuit therefor connected also with the armatu'res and with the contacts, a pivot arm on the core ofthe solenoid and the pivotal element for the gate having a crank to which the arm is connected.

2. In combination, a railway having its rails insulated from each other at the center of a crossing, a weight influenced pivotally supported gate at the crossing, a trolley wire arranged over the railway and a train having a trolley wheel to engage the trolley wire, of normally closed electric circuits, wired directly to the rails at the sides of the crossing and to the trolley wire, relays in said circuits having spring influenced armatures, contacts in the path of engagement with the armatures when the latter. are deenergized, and the said relays designed to have their circuits (lo-energized when a train approaches the crossing, a solenoid, an electric circuit therefor connected also with the arinatures and with the contacts, a pivotal-1n on the core of the solenoid, the pivotalelement for the gate havinga crank to which the arm is connected, a lal'i'ip on the gate, contacts on the pivot for the gate to \vhich the lamp is wired, wiper switch members engaging the contacts. and said Switches being wired in an electric'circuit also including a battery and connected with the first mentioned contacts and with the armatures.

In testimony whereof I aifix mysignaturc.

GEORGE F. SCHIRMACHER; 

